Joins with Other Leaders to Jump-Start Recycling Programs across the United States

Nestlé Waters North America today announced it is investing $6 million as part of a shared effort among business, government and community partners to fund comprehensive recycling infrastructure and programs in cities across the United States.

Nestlé Waters will join the ranks of some of the world’s largest companies – including 3M, Coca-Cola, Colgate-Palmolive, Goldman Sachs, Johnson & Johnson, Keurig Green Mountain, PepsiCo and the PepsiCo Foundation, Procter & Gamble, Unilever, Walmart, and the Walmart Foundation – as part of Closed Loop Fund, a $100 million social impact investment fund committed to finding a national solution to the critical recycling gap in the U.S.

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) estimates that 75 percent of the waste stream in the U.S. is recyclable, but only 30 percent actually gets recycled. Aside from the environmental impacts, municipalities and businesses in the U.S. spent over $5 billion in 2015 disposing of waste in landfills. Much of this waste, such as PET plastic, is in demand among manufacturers as raw material for everything from textiles to packaging.

“The United States has one of the lowest recycling rates of any industrialized country, but it doesn’t have to stay that way. The U.S. has an opportunity to lead the way in recycling, while creating jobs, economic growth, and a more sustainable future,” says Nelson Switzer, Chief Sustainability Officer at Nestlé Waters North America. “As a company, we are on a very deliberate journey toward zero landfill waste in our products and operations, so I can think of no better opportunity than working collectively to ensure these recyclable materials are transformed from garbage to the valuable resources that they are.”

To date, Closed Loop Fund has diverted more than 100,000 tons of recyclable content, and the 11 projects currently funded are poised to divert 4 million tons by 2025. In that same timeframe, the Fund aims to:

Eliminate more than 40 million tons of greenhouse gas;

Divert more than 20 million cumulative tons of waste from landfills;

Provide a $40M economic benefit to municipalities;

Prove replicable models that will help unlock additional investment in recycling.

"Nestlé Waters’ commitment to Closed Loop Fund is a significant investment in creating shared value across the recycling supply chain," said Rob Kaplan, Managing Director of Closed Loop Fund. "The investment will enable people to recycle more, and efficiently turn those packages into new products. It will save taxpayer dollars and improve the recycling system."

This investment in Closed Loop Fund is just the latest in Nestlé Waters’ efforts to help shape products and systems that contribute toward sustainable consumption, and help the company achieve zero environmental impact by 2030. Having pioneered the lightweight bottle, the company has reduced the plastic content of its bottles by over 60% since 1994. Just last month, Nestlé Waters reached a critical milestone in its use of recycled plastic content (rPET), announcing that 9 out of 10 of its California-born Arrowhead® Mountain Spring Water bottles incorporate 50% post-consumer recycled plastic content. As a result, 1.8 billion bottles have been kept from landfills, and the 86 million pounds of recycled plastic has saved 69,660 tons of carbon emissions – the equivalent of 39,000 round trip flights from New York to Los Angeles.

About Nestlé Waters North America

Nestlé Waters North America provides people with an unrivaled portfolio of bottled waters for healthy hydration. Brands such as Nestlé® Pure Life®, Poland Spring®, Perrier®, and S. Pellegrino® have driven Nestlé Waters North America to be the third largest non-alcoholic beverage company by volume in the U.S. Based in Stamford, Connecticut with over 8,500 employees nationwide, Nestlé Waters is committed to reducing its environmental footprint across operations. The company is also committed to creating shared value and being a good neighbor in the 140 communities where it operates in the U.S.

About Closed Loop Fund

Founded in 2014, Closed Loop Fund is a social impact investment fund that provides cities and companies access to the capital required to build comprehensive recycling programs. Closed Loop Fund aims to invest $100 million by 2020 with the goal to create economic value for cities by increasing recycling rates in communities across America. Closed Loop Fund brings together the world’s largest consumer product, retail, and financial companies committed to finding a national solution to divert waste from landfills into the recycling stream in order to be used in the manufacturing supply chain. Key supporters include 3M, Coca-Cola, Colgate-Palmolive, Goldman Sachs, Johnson & Johnson Family of Consumer Companies, Keurig Green Mountain, Nestlé Waters North America, PepsiCo and the PepsiCo Foundation, Procter & Gamble, Unilever, Walmart and the Walmart Foundation. For more information, visit www.closedloopfund.com.